


Radiance

by TheUnicornFountain



Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Genre: Gen, Wind Waker spoiler warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-12
Updated: 2014-10-12
Packaged: 2018-02-20 20:15:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2441609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheUnicornFountain/pseuds/TheUnicornFountain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Link's latest close call prompts a moment of reflection for The King of Red Lions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Radiance

**Author's Note:**

> This short story is both a stand-alone piece along with being tied into my fanfiction _Sea Change._ It was requested by the same person as that story. Comments, questions, and constructive criticism are always welcome. Please enjoy, thank you.

# Radiance

The night was slowly giving way to dawn, and the sky above Headstone Island was lightening in response. The sun hinted at the horizon to the east, and The King of Red Lions raised his head a little higher as if in anticipation of the first rays of light. Several hours had passed since Link and Medli disappeared into the Earth Temple. The King of Red Lions had grown to like their carefree chatter along the journey from Dragon Roost Island, but he also appreciated the quiet that fell once they disappeared into the temple. He only hoped the quiet meant things were going well. They were, after all, children.

As if in mockery of The King of Red Lions’s hopes, a distressed cry echoed across the island to him. He turned his head away from the glimmer of dawn and looked to the entrance to the Earth Temple. Medli was coming out of it, and she was supporting Link. Both children were pale and out of breath, and in Link’s case there was a bright splash of red on his green clothes.

The King of Red Lions coasted as close to the shore as he was able and stretched his long neck out to its full length. If only he wasn’t limited to this form outside of the sleeping Hyrule. A hull and deck were no good for providing comfort when it was needed in the face of hardship. In the absence of hands and a reassuring face, he did the best he could by remaining steady when Link’s arms fell over his head for support. The King of Red Lions shifted the slightest bit to free his mouth and tried to ignore the ragged breaths in his ear. “What happened?” he asked Medli. The stench of blood was bright.

The Ritoan girl wrung her delicate fingers together. Like the rest of her people, Medli was built light. The King of Red Lions could only imagine how she had felt when Link took on the brunt of whatever dangers laid in the Earth Temple. He hoped she had found some way to help him. The girl was worth her weight in determination and more--no surprise, given she was a Sage’s descendant.

Medli dropped her hands in a self-conscious gesture, but the worry in her face didn’t leave. “We reached the final chamber only to find a great monster--a phantom--within it. The phantom attacked Link, and he was forced to fight. The monster did something to Link--it cast a curse, I think. Link got all confused, and he was hurt.”

“How did you escape?” The King of Red Lions asked. He was urging on the rising sun in silence. He wanted the better light to study Link’s wound. A line of gold was peeking over the horizon. Soon it would sweep across the sea. 

Medli’s tight face relaxed the slightest into a warm smile. “Link defeated the phantom, and we were able to awaken a part of the Master Sword’s power.” The smile faded. “Then he collapsed, so I helped him back. He didn’t have any fairies on him.”

The King of Red Lions sighed. “I told you to stock up before we came here,” he chided Link, but gently. The boy whimpered a response. “What was that?”

The King of Red Lions never heard an answer, for the sun breached the horizon and cast its first rays across the sea. Unobstructed, they spanned the length of the sea within seconds and struck the gathered adventurers with bright light. The King of Red Lions felt Link tense with a gasp before he staggered away with a cry of pain. He sought the shadow of Headstone Island’s cliffs on stumbling feet with his arms over his head and constant screams in his throat.

Medli chased after Link, calling his name. She crouched down by where he was huddled in the shadows and her hands worked over his shaking body. Link calmed down enough under her care to silence his screams, but The King of Red Lions could see shivers running through his body. An inkling of understanding had already come to the boat, yet he needed confirmation, and he called over Medli.

“This phantom,” The King of Red Lions prompted once Medli rejoined him. “Describe it to me.” 

Medli swept her arms up and out. “It was very tall, and very wide. It carried a lantern, and it wore a mask. When Link would fight it, it would break up into smaller poes for a while.”

“Jalhalla,” The King of Red Lions named with a grim nod of his head. “It feared the sunlight, didn’t it?” Medli’s widened eyes answered the question. “And you say it cursed Link…”

“The sunlight hurts Link like it hurt Jalhalla,” Medli guessed. Her face brightened and she asked, “A Great Fairy can heal him, right? There’s one close by, on Southern Fairy Island. We can wait until dark and go--”

“We can’t wait,” The King of Red Lions cut in. He looked to the red stain that was spreading across Link’s tunic. “The wound will kill him before midday. We will have to make the trip now. Medli, can you get Link to his feet and to me, and then run up my sail? I can take Link to Southern Fairy Island while you return to your prayers.”

Medli shook her head. “I’m coming with you.” Before The King of Red Lions could argue, she spread her arms. Feathers bloomed from her pale skin to fall into line as wings. “I can protect Link from the sun with my wings. That is, if you approve.”

The King of Red Lions was impressed with Medli’s cleverness. “That is a fantastic idea, Medli.” 

Medli lowered her wings, blushed, and spun in place to take off for Link. It was while to convince the boy; he kept pushing Medli away with sharp protests. It took Medli to cover Link with her wings and show him how she could protect him. His head peeked up from between the spread wings and a surprised look crossed his pale face. Medli laughed and encouraged him to stand. She kept her fear well out of her voice, even when she felt Link’s blood dampening her feathers.

The children made for an odd sight with Medli’s wings spread out at her side and Link walking, hunched over, beneath them. The King of Red Lions turned broadside to better accommodate them, yet it was still a tricky business for Link to scramble into the boat. Medli’s wings were constricted by the water, and she couldn’t keep up with Link’s desperate speed as he clambered over The King of Red Lions’s side. The boy rolled onto the deck with a scream when the sunlight hit him. The King of Red Lions helped Medli over the side by seizing the back of her clothes in his mouth to provide stability. She spread her damp wings over Link as soon as she had run up the sail, and the boy’s screams tapered off into whimpers. Medli apologized repeatedly for the interruption until the sudden thrust of the sail catching the wind quieted her. 

Both The King of Red Lions and Medli knew they had little time. The most Medli could do for Link was to tear apart a burlap bag she found on the deck and wrap it around his wound. He screamed the whole while as she worked, and he attempted to hide belowdecks. Yet there was no room in the small space, and he cried some more while clawing at his clothes. Medli rushed to put her wings over him again while pleading for calm. The bloodstain had widened, and she swallowed a lump in her throat at the sight of it. “Has he been hurt before?” she asked The King of Red Lions.

“Of course,” The King of Red Lions replied with a grim nod. He skipped over a wave, and seawater sprayed to either side of him. “He was half-dead when I first found him. He had been tossed into the sea by a great bird. It took the whole journey to Windfall Island for him to come around.”

Link murmured something beneath Medli’s wings, and she uttered a strained laugh. “Link says you scared him so badly, he fell over and knocked his head on your rudder.”

“Ah, yes, but no word on how many times he’s sailed me straight into cannon fire, am I correct?” The King of Red Lions teased.

Medli laughed again. “You two have been through a lot together, huh? It reminds me of Prince Komali and me, and how much we’ve gone through to become friends. He’s so stubborn… It took me ages to get even a hello out of him.”

“Link took to me rather quickly,” The King of Red Lions said. “I was a little slower in seeing his full worth. For a while, I wasn’t sure if he was the hero I was looking for.”

“What made you change your mind?” Medli asked. She sensed Link had stilled to listen. He wasn’t shaking beneath her wings anymore, and she could feel his head was turned to better catch The King of Red Lions’s words over the sound of his wake.

The King of Red Lions had a ready answer. “It was when we came to the Tower of the Gods. Much of the first floor of that place was flooded, so I helped Link by carrying him to the locks that would open the way to the tower’s higher floors. After climbing out to go up the staircase, there was a moment when he turned around to say goodbye. He had a smile on his face--you know the one, I’m sure.”

Medli did; the same bright, somewhat silly smile that Link put on to reassure anyone who was worried about him. She had seen it a few times during their traversal through the Earth Temple.

The King of Red Lions nodded as if he had heard Medli’s thoughts. “Yes. Yet it was the expression beneath the smile that struck me. His determination, his conviction, his courage… It blazed out of him.” He paused. “It reminded me of my daughter when I last saw her. I had to send her away to a safe place while I remained behind. She was so frightened, but she put on a brave face for me. I couldn’t do the same, but I wish everyday that I could have, for I never saw her again after that.”

It wasn’t clear if The King of Red Lions was still speaking to Medli. The Ritoan girl guessed he had sunk into the depths of his memory without care for whoever was listening. Yet she was thankful for the lapse, for The King of Red Lions’s words were working to calm Link better than her reassurances had so far. The boy’s breaths had evened out, and he no longer voiced his pain. His hand sought Medli’s beneath the spread of her wings, and she squeezed it in return. 

When Southern Fairy Island appeared on the horizon, The King of Red Lions and Medli breathed sighs of relief. It was another struggle to protect Link as he disembarked from the boat, but he made more of an effort to walk, and he bit his tongue against his screams when the sun slipped through Medli’s feathers. 

The King of Red Lions was left to watch the children disappear into the Great Fairy’s cave. Things would be fine now, he knew--for a while, at least. Yet there were more dangers ahead, and Ganondorf lay behind all of it. The King of Red Lions thought again on the last moments when he saw his daughter Zelda, centuries ago. As the Gorons escorted her to the refuge within the mountains, she had carried Hyrule’s future on her shoulders. The King of Red Lions had guarded Hyrule’s past. He wondered why it was so often the Goddesses’ inclination to put the heaviest burdens on the youngest shoulders. 

A flap of wings pulled The King of Red Lions out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Medli soar over him, back towards Headstone Island. She called down a cheerful goodbye in her wake. Link was making his way from the Great Fairy’s cave. He was whole and of full color again, and even the stain was gone from his clothes. He flashed his signature smile when The King of Red Lions lowered his head to look at him. 

“Are you feeling better?” The King of Red Lions asked. Link nodded. “You had me scared for a while there. I sailed here as fast as I could because I was afraid I would lose you.”

Link blushed and dropped his head. His boots scuffed at the sloped ground. The King of Red Lions chuckled and asked, “You heard what I said, didn’t you? On the journey here?” Link nodded again with noted reluctance. “It was all true. I see a lot in you, Link, and you remind me of my daughter so much that sometimes it hurts to look at you.” Link’s head jerked up, and a startled expression came to his face. “However,” The King of Red Lions continued before the boy could think to launch into needless apologies, “it is the good things that I see more, and they are the balm for my troubled memories.”

Link relaxed, and his smile returned. He hugged The King of Red Lions’s wide head in thanks before clambering back into the boat. The King of Red Lions looked back at him as Link began to raise the sail. “I don’t suppose you remembered to bottle a fairy or two?”

Link sighed and dropped his head. He disembarked with a bottle in hand to The King of Red Lions’s gentle laughter.


End file.
